Coffee & Flowers
by Sweptoff
Summary: AU. Chapter story in the making. Percy applies for a job at the local coffee shop, and meets Annabeth, a regular there. Centered around the growing relationship of the two, with all its ups and downs.
1. Chapter 1

**A\N: Here we go. :B  
D'Claimer: All characters belong the Mr Riordan.**

* * *

Percy Jackson sat there, bored out of his mind, flicking the old magazines back and forth across the smooth coffee table. The noisy fan whirred overhead whilst the clock ticked by as though they were mocking him.

"Mr Jackson! Mr D will see you now." The secretary screeched, the door flying open. Percy jumped, and the secretary smirked. He pushed himself off the couch and scowled at the secretary as he brushed past her.

The room he walked into looked like a giant square grape. The walls were a dark purple, the furniture either brown or indigo. Bottles of fine wine crowded the shelves.

Percy let out a surprised breath. He turned to the pudgy man sitting behind the mahogany desk.

"You're Mr Jackson?" The man's voice was a dull drone, like he couldn't care less who was here. Percy nodded, his hands fiddling with the hem of his shirt. Mr D stood up, revealing a grossly violet tracksuit.

"Well then, Mr Jackson, why are you here?"

"Er, the job offer, sir?"

"Right, right, of course. Well then, work starts at seven am sharp. Don't be late, Peter."

"It's Percy, sir."

"If you say, Patrick. Now get out."

Ducking his head, Percy hurried out of the room, shutting the door. He let out a breath, _finally_ it was over. Something about that man made him scrunch his nose in distaste; maybe it was his obsessive purpleness.

Percy looked around the room to find the secretary nowhere in sight, and quietly opened the door leading back to the coffee shop. The shop was buzzing with people sipping coffee, chatting, reading papers, all that coffee shop jazz.

He grinned at the thrill of being part of this community and pushed the door open to the outside world, happy as he'd ever be.

* * *

"Percy, one decaf cappuccino, small," Grover called. Percy shot Grover a helpless look of confusion. First day on the job and he had no idea what to do. _Great job, Percy, _he thought to himself.

Grover sighed as though he had expected this to happen and came over. "Okay, look. You go man the cashier, is that easy enough? Just get their orders and yell them to me." Percy nodded slowly and turned toward the cashier, only to be greeted by the sight of a girl whose blonde curls tumbled down over her shoulders so perfectly in a way that only a princess's could. Her head was slightly bent, her thumbs tapping away on the tiny keys of her Blackberry.

"I love you." Percy whispered, under his breath.

The girl glanced up at him. "Did you say something?"

"No, nothing."

Percy swallowed nervously and leaned against the counter, trying his best to act casual, but accidentally knocked over a ceramic cup, breaking it. Swearing under his breath, he ducked down to clean the mess up.

By then, the girl had heard the ruckus and leaned in over the counter.

"Do you need any help with that?"

Percy froze at the sound of her voice. "Um, no. It's fine, I got this." He replied, keeping his head down, embarrassed.

"You sure?" She asked again. Percy nodded his head, hurriedly picking up the pieces with his bare hands.

"Aw, man. Mr D's going to fire you for sure!" Grover exclaimed, sighing. Shaking his head, he passed the coffee to the girl and took her money. "Sorry for all that, Annabeth."

She smiled and shook her head. "It's fine, Grover. The new ones are always like that."

"You can say that again," Grover laughed, rolling his eyes.

From then, the events of the day passed by quickly with no more problems. Percy heaved a sigh of relief as Grover flipped the "Open" sign to "Closed". Grover cracked a grin and moved back to the coffee machines.

"Come on, newbie. Watch closely." He said, waving Percy over.

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**What'd you think? Reviews please.**


	2. Chapter 2

Percy woke and automatically slammed a fist into the alarm clock, toppling it to the ground. The resilient alarm clock kept ringing, its shrill trill drilling a hole into his brain. Finally, a frustrated Percy shoved the covers off and sat up, squinting against the morning sun. Glancing down at his clock, he gave it a little kick, sending it skidding into the wall, still ringing like mad.

Then the phone rang, adding on the annoyance building up behind his head. He got off the bed and stomped over to pick up the phone.

"What?" He snapped.

"Percy, you do remember you've got a shift today at the shop right?" Grover's familiar voice came through the earpiece.

"Oh sh—how late am I?"

"Um, you're ten minutes late, but by the time you get here it'll be half an hour."

"I'll be there as fast as I can." Percy mentally slapped himself in the face as he put the phone down.

Hurrying back into his bedroom, he grabbed the nearest pair of jeans and jumped into them, pulling a shirt on at the same time.

Then he shuffled into the bathroom, one hand brushing his teeth, while the other buttoned and zipped his jeans. Percy grabbed the car keys and staggered out the front door, locked it, and then he drove like all hell had broken loose.

A blue Toyota Prius came squealing down the street, earning a few curses from passing civilians before coming to a stop in front of the coffee shop.

"Percy! Was about time you got here. I got customers literally breathing down my neck. It's scary stuff, man," Grover cried as Percy walked in the door.

Percy shot Grover a funny look. "I thought you were supposed to be an expert at this stuff. I mean, you're the one who was teaching me how to press the buttons on that thing." He gestured to the cashier machine. Percy shook his head and grabbed an apron and cap, nudging Grover away.

"I'm a coffee enthusiast; I can make the most extravagant coffee in the city, but I cannot, I repeat: _cannot_, handle cashier duty," Grover said in a way that could only be described as distressed. Percy patted his friend on the back and moved his attention back to a stout woman ordering a latte.

"One latte, Connor," Percy called.

A muffled explosion sounded followed by obnoxious snickers. A few customers who heard the explosion flinched and shot Percy some dirty looks. Grover came up behind Percy and whispered in his ear.

"Welcome to the horror that is the Stoll brothers, Connor and Travis. Don't ask how they were recruited. Mr D must've been really drunk, or just plain stupid. Oh, and if you quote me, I'll deny it."

Percy grinned and elbowed Grover away.

Five minutes later, Beckendorf, the coffee machine technician set a latte on the counter, his face all black with… soot?

"Don't ask." Beckendorf grunted.

Percy obliged and passed the coffee to the waiting woman. After that woman, the coffee shop was pretty quiet, before a pretty girl with frizzy, red hair walked in dressed in a baggy, paint-splattered t-shirt that probably used to be white, and jeans ripped at the knees. She strode over to Percy and rested her arms across the counter.

"Umm," She glanced up at the menu board nailed to the wall. "Gimme an iced mocha with whipped cream, and a chicken sandwich, thanks." And with that she flashed Percy a smile and grabbed the nearest table.

"Roger that," Percy muttered to himself as he grabbed a chicken sandwich from the freezer display cabinet thing. He never could figure out what it was called. "One iced mocha, G-man."

"Coming right up," Grover said, clearly in coffee-enthusiast mode. Percy turned and leaned on the cashier counter.

"Who was that?"

"_That_ was Rachel Elizabeth Dare. You know, loves art, baggy shirts, has a rich dad?"

"Doesn't exactly ring a bell…" Percy had his trademark clueless face on. Grover pressed a cover onto the mocha and passed it to Percy.

"Well, you've never met her before so it shouldn't ring a bell."

"Huh, good logic."

"Just get her what she wants." Grover said shaking his head, amused.

And so he did. He grabbed the chicken sandwich headed for Rachel's table.

"Um, Rachel right?" Percy said, setting down the food.

"Mmm, thanks," Rachel mumbled with a pencil in her mouth. She twisted her hair into a messy knot and then took the pencil from her mouth. Percy nodded and turned to leave. "Hey wait, how do you know my name?"

He turned back to her. "Grover," He replied, somewhat sheepishly.

"Oh, right. You're the new guy then; Percy," She stuck out a freckled hand. Percy grasped her hand and shook it once with a grin. She seemed to smile back for a moment but soon her focus turned back to her sketches. Percy shrugged and headed back to the cashier only to find the blonde girl, Annabeth, there again.

He drew a deep breath and silently prayed he wouldn't do something stupid again.

"Hey, what can I do for you?" Percy felt a rush of relief when his voice came out steadily.

"Keep your clumsiness under control." She said jokingly. Percy barked out an awkward laugh that sounded too loud, like those really cheap budget commercials on radio.

"No cups around to break this time." He replied, forcing a smile.

"A hot mocha will do," she peered at his name tag. "Percy."

Percy hid a grin when he turned back toward the machines and poured in the powder, waiting for the machine to do it's job. The coffee maker whirred noisily as it processed the powder and turned it into liquid.

"So, um...Annabeth," he began, turning to face her. "How are you?" And finished lamely. Annabeth raised an eyebrow, amused and crossed her arms.

"I've never told you my name before."

"Oh um...yeah, I er, guess good?"

"Right," she dragged out the word. "Because_ Annabeth_ is such a common name."

Percy opened and closed his mouth, trying to find the words to reply and mentally hit himself for even trying. What was wrong with him anyway? It's just another girl; it's not as if he's never dated one or talked to one before. But somehow, _she_ was different; she didn't have to try...she just was. And right on time, Grover swung an arm lazily around Percy's neck, intervening.

"Hey, Annabeth. This is Percy," he beamed. "Percy, Annabeth." Percy grinned apologetically.

"We've met."

"Oh, that's great then. I'll let you two kick it off. And Percy, your shift's not over until two which is in another forty-five minutes." Grover babbled before slipping away with a grin of self-imposed awkwardness.

"Sometimes I really worry about that guy," Percy chuckled. To his surprise, Annabeth let out a small laugh, which to him, was two seconds of unsure bliss. Then she leaned toward him, involuntarily sending his heart into a flurry of activity, before pulling back with her coffee in hand.

"Thanks for this," she flashed a nervous smile as she slid the money across the counter and turned away, leaving a dumbstruck barista staring after her.

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**Ending rewritten.**


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